Are You Getting Rust(y) on Your Poplars?

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In one of last year’s Tree Damage Alerts (No. 51), we drew attention to poplar rust as one of various leaf diseases that fluctuate in severity from year to year. Most tree species seem to tolerate sporadic attacks by leaf-infecting fungi, even though they sometimes lose so much photosynthetic tissue that their growth is reduced. Occasionally, however, leaf damage is so severe or recurrent that trees die back because they no longer have enough reserves of sugar and starch to maintain themselves fully. In the case of poplar rust, caused by Melampsora spp., it is even possible for entire trees to die, so that the future of particularly susceptible varieties (e.g. ‘Boelare’) could be jeopardised.

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